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Saturday, 4 June 2011

Because all you can see are his shadows - Final outcome

Okay finally I managed to scan the final piece of the last Unit of year one.:3
It really didn't turned out how I wanted it to...:/ Even though I loved the outlines I spoiled them with this way to tiny size of the painting - I just wasn't able to paint it on a bigger sheet within the short time that was left. I'm still way to slow with painting.....x_x"

It's the most personal painting I've done so far I guess...
For everyone who's interested in the idea behind the picture - here are some extracts from the evaluation I had to write about it.(I so can imagine nobody ever is going to read this ahah :,D)

"In this Unit 48 – Narrative Image Making we should explore the idea of narrative images under the assignment 'The Portrait'.

I've chosen my boyfriend Paul as the sitter for the portrait I created because it was easy to do primary research of him, since we live together and I know him very well, so I have quite a lot I could talk about in the narrative portrait of him.

The target I set myself in the project brief we first had to write, was to illustrate the different views you can have on other persons when you A) only see somebody passing by, so the very first impression of this person, or when you B) really got to know this person during a long relationship. There is this huge contrast between this two ways of looking at somebody that I find really intriguing, and Paul was a very good example for this subject matter since he has a quite special look, and it is easy to imagine how others see him or even how I saw him before I got to know him as well."

(...)

"I carefully considered which symbols I wanted to use to explain certain aspects of Paul's personality and it became quite many in the end. On the left side of the picture you can see him how I see him. The viewer is looking down at him what emblematises vulnerability and stands in contrast to this inviolability of the character in the background. He also looks straight into the eyes of the viewer what shows that he doesn't has to hide something and his honesty. The cat on his shoulder demonstrates his soft side you would not really thought he has on the first sight. The big clock next to his head is also a very important symbol. The most important fact to get a different view at a person is time I guess. I made the clock that big to show how much time was necessary to spend with him until I could look at him the way I do now. The gears leading away from the clock are symbols for creativity for me personally. I somehow picture them in the human head stimulated through a simple idea, creating artistic outcomes – the inspiration process. Inspiration is a very important thing in his life as a musician and he also is inspiration for me. Paul has spend all his childhood and life before he came here with me on the island Usedom in Germany and is very bound to his home therefore. It is an important part of his personality. Also the map and the book in his arm symbolize his big interest in the world and all the things that going on out there. The shadows play a very big part in this painting. The biggest shadow connects both personalities to show that they are the same person. The smaller shadows in the background show the multiple different effects Paul has on others that do not know him since it is hard to imagine that he looks the same for all strangers. One of this shadows has a string puppet in its hand. This shows how easy it is to manipulate peoples mind and to lead them to a special view about you just through the way you look.

Everything is placed in a room within walls because Paul likes to work inside his privacy especially in his own study room and only there he really can concentrate on his work and music. To avoid the effect he would be 'trapped' inside this room though, there is this open door with a bright light behind it at the end of the room. This shall symbolize the bright future he might have as a musician resulting out of the focused and concentrated studying in this one room. These are about the most important symbols I have integrated in the portrait and I think they describe Paul's personality quite well." (Sorry about the amateurish english...I really didn't have much time to write this.. ._.")

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About Me

Anja Uhren is a German illustrator and writer, currently based in the UK where she studies Illustration at the Arts University Bournemouth. Her greatest passions are drawing and traveling and she loves nothing better than combining the two.